The New Hampshire attorney general’s office is investigating an apparent robocall that used AI to mimic President Biden’s voice and dissuade voters from participating in the state’s primary election.
The call falsely links voting in the primary to precluding participation in the general election.
The origin of the calls is unknown, but they were falsely attributed to a former state Democratic Party chair.
“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again,” a voice pretending to be Biden states on the call. “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
“This call links back to my personal cell phone number without my permission,” former state Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan said.
“It is outright election interference, and clearly an attempt to harass me and other New Hampshire voters who are planning to write-in Joe Biden on Tuesday,” she said.
Experts warned of increasing AI-generated disinformation in elections, and although legislation to regulate AI’s role in politics is pending, the Federal Election Commission is considering regulating AI deepfakes in campaign ads.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that it “was indeed fake and not recorded by the president.” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said the campaign was “actively discussing additional actions to take immediately.”
“Spreading disinformation to suppress voting and deliberately undermine free and fair elections will not stand, and fighting back against any attempt to undermine our democracy will continue to be a top priority for this campaign,” she added.
The intent behind the calls remains unclear, but experts see it as part of a broader trend to undermine trust in democratic processes.
“We have been concerned that generative AI would be weaponized in the upcoming election and we are seeing what is surely a sign of things to come,” digital forensics expert Hany Farid said.
The Biden campaign and other political entities have disavowed the call, and concerns about AI manipulation in elections are growing.
“Any effort to discourage voters is disgraceful and an unacceptable affront to democracy,” a spokeswoman for Rep. Dean Phillips stated. “The potential use of AI to manipulate voters is deeply disturbing.”
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